Max

Max's is a tiny little trattoria located in Tribeca and is an offshoot of Max's in Alphabet City. As I work in the area I am always looking around for a good luncheon spot. And one afternoon I had the best lunch at Max's accompanied by an excellent Bellini promising myself that I would walk in one evening for dinner.

For those of you not familiar with the neighbourhood, Tribeca is literally translated as the Triangle Below Canal. About 15-20 years ago it was not the most fancy neighbourhood to walk around in. This was an area which was literally forgotten by this city and its people- full of warehouses, forgotten buildings and some suspicious characters. Now, with the infiltration of Robert de Niro, the Tribeca Film Festival, movie stars and hot shot wall street guys, it has become the jewel on the cap of downtown luxury living.

181 Duane St
New York, NY 10013
tel: (212) 966-5939

Last Night at Bolo

Well, this is the first time that I am writing about the closing of a restaurant. One of my favourite restaurants in New York City, Bolo will be closing its doors as of the 31st of December after almost 15 years in operation. I am not sure whether they will be reopening or not....but what can be said or written is that it will be sadly missed. Bolo was opened by Laurence Krechmer and Bobby Flay in 1993 introducing a new twist to Spanish cuisine in New York City.

What I always loved about the place was its warmth and the incredible consistency in their food presentation and quality. Along with one of the best selection of Spanish wines in the city, it boasted a great tapas menu. Bolo was the perfect place to bring your family, business associates, a date or friends.

Hey Yunus! You'll be missed the mostest!!

Food & Wine Pairings

Pairing food and wine can turn out to be an exhausting and frustrating exercise -only if you stick to the rules. The old rules of pairing red wines with red meat and white wine with white meat or fish are quite outdated. As we all know food and wine pairings are highly subjective and unless one has knowledge of the many different varietals and the flavour profile of a particular wine, it is very difficult to orchestrate a pairing.

The problem with these old rules is that they don’t take into consideration the complexity of today’s multi-ethnic food available in cosmopolitan cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Fransisco where you can find Mexican cuisine, South Indian food consisting mostly of vegetables, lentils and yoghurt or Sushi. Not to mention the dozens of new wines that are reaching international markets from Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and even India.

As far as pairings go the most important factor that should be taken into consideration is: Harmony. The wine should not overpower the food nor should the food overpower the wine and both should enhance each others qualities.

In almost every city there are restaurants or small groups that conduct wine tastings or give wine classes. I would definitely join one or the other. It really does open up your world and as you start learning more and meeting more people interested in the same subject you will find the world of wine and food pairings to be less mysterious than it had appeared before.

Sanctuary Tea

Sanctuary Tea opened earlier this year on West Broadway, Soho. It is a tea salon and a purveyor of fine speciality teas from China, Japan and other famed tea producing regions from around the world. The greatest thing is that you can also buy these teas along with different tea based products and tea- ware sold separately in the store.

You can also get small plates of expertly paired dishes -where you guessed it! Tea is included as a recipe item. And don't forget their excellent beer and wine list. In the winter it is one my favorite places to pop in to and get a hot pot of delicious tea and warm up for an afternoon or evening of walking around Soho with friends or just by my lonesome.

337B West Broadway
New York NY 10013
tel: 212 941 7832

Gilt at the Palace Hotel, NY

Wow! I have taken a bit of a hiatus from my blogging...call it writers block or whatever but I am back!

Gilt located inside the Palace Hotel, took me to another level. Located where the previous Le Cirque 2000 used to be, inside the same room with its beautiful wood panelling, fireplace and carved ceiling the landmarked circa-1880s space has never looked more beautiful. And yes Cirio Maccioni's 2 Bonets are still functioning in the same kitchen which Chef Christopher Lee was very kind enough to give me a little tour of.

The food is absolutely spectacular! We were specially surprised by Chef Chris who made us a risotto made out of rice imported from a small village in Italy. The rice was completely unpolished and hence full of starch which made the risotto incredibly creamy. Topped with generous shavings of the seasons last white truffle and a Savennieres by Nicholas Joly picked by their wine director Jason Ferris, only a visit to Shangri La could have compared.


455 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10022
tel: 212 891-8100